User Posts : The Southwest Voice

Photographing Memories

“Say cheese, Gram,” Brett announces with a big smile as I pose for a picture with his brother. Then next JD takes his turn behind the camera to snap a photograph. Our two grandsons live in Boise and therefore visits are not nearly as frequent as my husband and I would like. We have found that taking a picture of every activity during the visit makes the memories last.

Shortly after returning home, we send each boy an envelope of their pictures highlighting the things we did together. Often we celebrate special events like birthday parties, soccer games or visits to their schools. By meeting the teachers and touring the rooms, we feel a part of their school year.

Most often, though, the pictures record the simple pleasures of playing with our grandsons. The recent visit included snapshots of building a city with blocks, flying airplanes from our make believe aircraft carrier, and playing in our very loud and enthusiastic musical band. The boys now collect baseball cards and my favorite picture from our October visit shows them sharing their new albums with me.

Photographing our time together allows Brett and JD a fun way to remember that even though we live “far, far away” we share a very special bond.

Keepsake Cookbook

My granddaughters have been cooking with me since their high chair days, and it is one of our best times together. Recently my niece in Missouri suggested adding another dimension to the cooking experience—creating our own cookbook.

I purchased a photo album and a package of colored index cards for each girl. They used stickers to decorate and personalize the book’s cover. Emily can now write the ingredients on her own recipe card, and Ellie is able to copy the words to her card. The completed card is slipped into a pocket, keeping it protected as we cook. I take a beginning picture of the ingredients so the girls have a visual record of the needed supplies.

In addition to being fun, cooking also helps to teach basic skills. In order to insure each girl gets to add the same number of ingredients, math knowledge is needed. The newest fact is that three-fourths is one-half of one and a half. Both girls recognize certain words in the recipe and “ingredient” entered their vocabulary at an early age.

Research shows that children who grow and prepare food are more likely to make nutritious choices. My granddaughters enjoy picking herbs from my indoor garden and fruits and vegetables from their outdoor garden. Ellie is especially enjoying homemade pickles this summer made from the cucumbers she helped grow.

Recent additions to the cookbooks include: peach bars, homemade ice cream, pickles, tomato salad, and Emily’s secret taco recipe. Their favorite recipe is colored pancakes. Several years ago they asked to make pink pancakes using food coloring. The idea grew and it is always a surprise to see the multi-colored designs they create.

By next summer the girls are hoping to have enough recipes to divide the book into sections—just like Gram’s cookbook.

The Treasure Jar

“Gram, Gram it’s a heart rock,” yelled Ellie.

“Put it in the Treasure Jar,” Emily added.

The heart shaped rock is eagerly placed in the red jar and joins a collection of treasures we find on our nature walks. Almost every weekend the girls and I find time to visit a local park. Often we are accompanied by Lisa, Emily and Ellie’s friend. Our only purpose is to relax, enjoy, and of course, hunt for interesting items. Last fall we collected a “twin” acorn, a butterfly’s wing and a white crystal. This spring an empty robin’s egg, marble and two feathers were added in a single trip. On another expedition the three girls scurried from tree to tree finding tiny red, yellow, blue and green paint pellets.

An important part in the journey of discovery is also learning what cannot be included. The girls now know that flowers and leaves will wither and die. Insects, no matter how interesting, will not survive in the jar—despite the promise of water and grass. Even though the flowers are beautiful, not picking them and leaving them for others to enjoy highlights the value of treasures not placed in a jar.

In an age of increasing technological advances, it is refreshing to seek things that are neither plugged in, make noise or require skill. The joy of simple pleasures, interesting conversation and the beauty of the natural world is a wonderful way to spend a few peaceful hours. The girls would remind us, though, to always keep an eye out for special things to add to the treasure jar.